The Golden Ass

Front Cover
West Margin Press, 2020 - Fiction - 220 pages

Eager to learn the rules of magic, Lucius agrees to participate in a shapeshifting spell that suddenly goes awry, transforming the man into a donkey. His life is abruptly upended as he is attacked, stolen and sold multiple times before finding relief through divine intervention.

Lucius is enamored with witchcraft and begs a woman to transform him into a bird. Unfortunately, she fails, and he is immediately turned into an ass. This leads to a tumultuous journey that takes Lucius away from his friends and puts him into the hands of strangers. He is sold by thieves, cooks and farmers, forced to engage in strange and laborious tasks. With each owner comes a different set of obstacles and inevitable misunderstandings.

A rare text stemming from Roman antiquity, The Golden Ass is infused with mythological elements. The story covers a wide range of topics from witchcraft to adultery and murder. This expansive narrative has enough twists to keep any reader on the edge of their seat.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Golden Ass is both modern and readable.

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About the author (2020)

Apuleius (124 - AD 170), also credited as Apuleius of Madaurensis was a prose writer and philosopher formally educated at Carthage, Athens and Rome. He studied the works of Plato as well as religion, becoming inundated with several cults. He was fascinated by the mystical arts, which led to public criticism and a charge of sorcery. Apuleius was eventually acquitted but his interest in magic continued to influence his writing. His most notable achievement is the novel, The Golden Ass, also known as the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which highlights the dangers of spells and the supernatural.